Senior Data Science & Analytics Leader

The University of Georgia

Master of Science, Applied Economics (MS)

Athens, GA

2016

Georgia Southwestern State University

Bachelor of Science, Business Administration in Management (BBA)

Americus, GA

2013

Director of Analytics – Unum Decision Technologies

Unum Group

Chattanooga, TN

Present - 2023

• Spearheaded the selection, procurement, and implementation of a modern data science platform (Posit), enabling cross-functional collaboration and enhancing data insights sharing across teams.
• Laid the foundation for a strong analytic bench across the organization by organizing learning cohorts in Python and R. Also organized a monthly data science meetup to cross-pollinate disparate teams and share coding best practices.
• Led efforts to implement data governance and best practices for version control, reproducibility, and documentation of data science projects, ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements. Set standards for daily pushing of code to Azure DevOps repositories.
• Enabled a modernization of the team’s reporting framework. Using the Quarto framework, I developed a template for the team to share business insight in a variety of outputs for both R and Python developers.
• Directed the use of Large Language Models for analyzing customer service call transcripts, resulting in a 30% reduction in help desk calls and $590K in OpEx savings.
• Led cross-functional initiative to connect Looker with BigQuery for customer portal experience improvements. Identified linkage between CSAT ranking and product usage, enabling targeted enhancements that improved customer satisfaction scores by 15%.

Senior Manager II – Advanced Analytics

Walmart Inc.

Bentonville, AR

2023 - 2022

• Deployed machine learning models into production using CI/CD pipelines, enhancing scalability and efficiency in data-driven decision-making.
• Integrated real-time data streaming to optimize apparel assortment, directly impacting $30B in annual revenue and improving responsiveness to consumer demand.
• Developed and deployed a clustering application, automating store assortment recommendations and saving two weeks of manual effort.
• Established behavioral cohort analysis linking Amplitude engagement metrics to FullStory web sessions, enabling merchandising teams to identify customer journey friction points and optimize apparel assortment.
• Championed Agile methodologies, aligning data science initiatives with business goals to accelerate the delivery of key insights and applications.
• Built an automated data pipeline using GCP and BigQuery, improving data accessibility and reducing manual effort by 50%, while ensuring compliance with data privacy standards.
• Optimized cloud querying strategies, leading to $1M in annual cost savings through improved efficiency and resource consolidation.

Applied Economist and Demand Analytics Manager | Senior Demand Planner

Shaw Industries Inc.

Dalton, GA

2022 - 2019

• Modernized forecasting models by combining anomaly detection and predicted external data into existing modeling approach, resulting in $24M in inventory savings and more accurate demand forecasts.
• Designed and deployed a clustering model for out-of-stock product recommendations, achieving an 84% acceptance rate of suggested alternatives.
• Implemented dbt framework to transform raw sales data into analytics-ready tables in Snowflake, standardizing data models and reducing preparation time by 35% for downstream analytics.
• Led the transition to automated reporting, replacing Excel with Tableau and driving company-wide adoption of self-service analytics.
• Recruited, trained, and managed a team of Data Scientists and Analysts, focusing on performance development, retention, and coaching.
• Provided strategic insights to leadership, optimizing corporate resource allocation and guiding decisions through economic analysis and forecasting.

Decision Support Analyst | Sales and Marketing Analyst | Applications Administrator

McKee Foods Corporation

Collegedale, TN

2019 - 2016

• Led a team of data analysts to build and deploy predictive models for business operations, using statistical and econometric analyses to improve decision-making.
• Administered Tableau Server, ensuring efficient distribution of analytics across the organization and fostering self-service analytics culture.
• Designed and implemented ETL pipelines in Alteryx, automating data aggregation and cleansing from multiple sources to ensure high-quality datasets for cross-functional teams.
• Developed an interactive Power BI dashboard, integrating Workday data to provide C-suite executives with real-time insights for managing charitable donations.

Graduate Research Assistant

College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The University of Georgia

Athens, GA

2016 - 2014

• Assisted with research involving large-scale data collection, formatting, and analysis for econometric studies.
• Evaluated causal relationships and modeled economic behaviors using advanced algorithms and statistical methods.

Sous Chef | Saucier

South City Kitchen

Vinings, GA

2009 - 2004

• Managed daily tasks of the entire back-of-house staff.
• Responsible for inventory levels and sustaining operational budget efficiency.
• Employee of the year (2006)